Liberalism does not evolve and progress according to some internal process, but because of the historical challenges it has faced. Slavery, colonialism, anti-semitism have all been a part of this. How do religious fundamentalism, environment and immigration challenge Liberalism today? A conversati
openDemocracy's first decade opened and closed with economic and financial crises. The first gave us the tools that will be needed to reorganise our politics to avoid more of the same; the second should give us the confidence that seemingly powerful institutions are flawed social mechanisms that o
The ideal of business, media and political separation is never fully achieved. But the trend in Central and Eastern Europe seems to be towards a worrying degradation. A podcast conversation with accompanying presentation. Podcast Powered By Podbean
Our Editor-in-Chief seeks escape and recounts the company he kept
Yvan Guichaoua, West Africa expert researching non-government armed groups, describes what kind of force Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is, what motivates its members and what are the conditions of its success. Smuggling, fast cars, and the economics of ransoms combine with ideology to create a t
Playing around with debates, again. This time on the NHS reforms.
Another debate I worked on, extracted from the Department of Energy and Climate Change's public consultation on Pathways to 2050. I love the idea of district heating – which seems such a natural adjunct to local community control compared to other systems – but can it really be justified independe
Still playing around with lay-outs for debates
Playing with the very nice Wrangl.comto lay out the issues
A filmed interview of Professor Eugene Rogan; the conversation ranges from the echoes of nineteenth century constitutionalism in the Tunisian and Egyptian movements today, to other moments of Egyptian empowerment – 1919, the years after 1952 – through the challenges ahead for Egypt and the credibi
